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Indian-American billionaire torches Donald Trump in exchange with Elon Musk
Indian-American tech mogul disagrees with Elon Musk in an X exchange over Donald Trump.
Indian-American tech billionaire Vinod Khosla clashed with Tesla CEO Elon Musk over former US President Donald Trump just minutes after President Joe Biden announced he was “standing down” from the presidential race.
Khosla, the Bay-area billionaire venture capitalist and co-founder of Sun Microsystems, called for an open Democratic convention following Biden’s announcement, expressing his desire for a “more moderate candidate who can easily beat” Trump.
Musk responded by urging Khosla to support Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, enthusiastically stating, “Come on, Vinod. Trump/Vance LFG!!”
Khosla did not hold back in his reply, ghastly criticizing Trump. “Hard for me to support someone with no values, lies, cheats, rapes, demeans women, hates immigrants like me,” Khosla wrote.
“He may cut my taxes or reduce some regulation but that is no reason to accept depravity in his personal values. Do you want President who will set back climate by a decade in his first year? Do you want his example for your kids as values?”
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Khosla calls for meritocratic administration, Musk counters with…
Musk, sensing the intensity of Khosla's response, acknowledged Trump's flaws but argued that the country needs an administration that is “more likely to be meritocratic and promote individual freedoms over the heavy hand of government.”
“Agree on meritocratic and promote individual freedoms. But abandon climate and “drill baby drill? Be MAGA and abandon NATO and American leadership and moral authority?” Khosla replied.
This public disagreement between two prominent Silicon Valley figures occurred just a day before Wired reported that wealthy “Democratic megadonors” in the region, including Khosla, were rallying behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden endorsed Harris as his successor, stating, “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump”, and the report highlighted a major shift among donors who had previously withheld contributions following Biden’s poor and shaky performance in a June 27 debate against Trump.
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During the debate, Biden appeared unresponsive and struggled to answer questions coherently, leading to widespread concern within the Democratic Party.
Following his blunt critique of Trump, Khosla, who resided in Portola Valley and hosted a fundraiser for Biden earlier this year, continued to discuss the party’s future direction on X. He advocated for an open race at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
“I want an open process at the convention and not a coronation,” Khosla stated.
“The key still is who can best beat @realDonaTrump above all other priorities given how much a danger he is.”
